Automated fiber placement (AFP) machines use composite manufacturing technologies to increase rate and precision in the production of advanced composite parts. AFP machines place fiber reinforcements on mandrels in an automatic fashion and cut them in separate small width tows of thermoset or thermoplastic pre-impregnated materials to form composite layups. Existing cutting blades for AFP Machines may have a thin Physical Vapor Deposition (“PVD”) coating over a blade body made of steel or carbide material. These cutter blades are designed such that the cutting edge of the blade repeatedly slides over the rear anvil. The repetitive sliding action of the cutting edge of the blade against the rear anvil of the machine wears the anvil making it rough over time. The worn anvil in turn leads to premature wear or failure of the carbide-based cutting blade. Failures are most often caused by wear or chipping at the edge of the cutting blade. Also, the chipped cutting blade frequently results in incomplete or partial tow cuts, where the cut does not go through the entire width of the composite material.
Time studies have shown that these cutting issues contribute significantly to the downtime of the AFP Machine, since the manufacturing technicians are usually required to stop the operation of the machine when cut failures occur. Additionally, failed cuts create rework for the manufacturing technicians.